Amy Adams’ The Office Cameo Almost Didn’t Happen Due To One Casting Concern

Amy Adams almost didn’t appear in the American version of The Office because of one casting concern among the creative team. Based on the BBC series of the same name, The Office was a mockumentary that followed a seemingly mundane paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania called Dunder Mifflin. The show ran for nine seasons on NBC from 2005 to 2013, won five Emmys, and remains an iconic series today, especially with the extended episodes on Peacock. Adams appeared in The Office as Katy Moore, a salesperson who visits the office to sell purses. Eventually, she and Jim (John Krasinski) strike up a romantic relationship that lasts until season 2.

In an episode of the podcast Office Ladies from The Office alums Jenna Fischer (Pam) and Angela Kinsey, it’s revealed that Adams wasn’t the first choice for the role. According to Fischer, they shot a whole day’s worth of footage with another actor in Katy’s role. However, after deciding she wasn’t the right fit, the actor was replaced with Adams. Read her response below:

We originally shot ‘Hot Girl’ for an entire day with a completely different actress in the role of Katy. And unfortunately, she just wasn’t quite right for the role. They had to let her go. We replaced her with Amy.

Adams immediately showed familiarity with the role, as Fischer says that, “she was so seamlessly Katy.” She added that Adams improvised a lot, which made it into the cut. However, the team shared their concerns about casting Adams due to her resemblance with Fisher and initially showed cold feet before finalizing their decision with her. Read Fischer’s full comments below:

I remember when Amy came on the set, she was so seamlessly Katy. She improvises a lot, you guys. We’ll get to it. But a lot of her improvs make it in. She just knew who this woman was. There was this concern that Amy and I looked too similar. I guess one of the writers even said, ‘I’m sorry. We can’t cast her. She’s like Jenna 2.0.’ And so they got cold feet and they cast someone else.

What This Means For The Office

This May Support The Speculation About Jim.

This interesting behind-the-scenes information reopens the long-existing discussion that Fischer and Adams look alike. The decision to cast her worked out in several ways, as Adams proved to be the perfect fit for Katy in several ways. One reason is that they look alike, as this dynamic plays off well with Jim and his proclivities as he eventually starts dating Katy. Even Michael noticed the similarities, calling Katy “Pam 6.0.” When the episode first aired in 2005, many viewers speculated Jim was attracted to Katy because she looked like Pam.

Unfortunately, the relationship didn’t last long, as Jim eventually breaks up with Katy. It was also revealed that Adams didn’t reprise her role in The Office season 2 due to her busy schedule at the time. Based on the timeline, the Oscar-nominated actor was working on The Fighter and The Muppets. Nevertheless, Adams sent a letter to the cast, letting them know how much she enjoyed her time filming for the show.

Our Take On Amy Adams’ Cameo In The Office

It Was At Least Nice To See Her Briefly In The Series

When I first watched the series, I thought that Adams was cast because of her resemblance to Fischer’s Pam, so I was a bit befuddled to hear that wasn’t the case and that Adams instead almost lost the role because of that. I’m glad that the creative team ultimately decided to go with Adams, because, while her role was small, she was able to take part in a series. The Office itself benefited from casting Adams as she proved to be a perfect fit in the series and would go on to achieve a decorating career outside the show that includes six Oscar nominations.